Berkshire and 3G Capital in a $23 Billion Deal for Heinz

Just days ago, the fate of a 144-year-old American icon was being hashed out in a Pittsburgh conference room as executives spoke by phone to representatives of two global billionaires who went by the code names “Owl” and “Goose.”

Owl was Warren E. Buffett, chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the most admired investors in the world. Goose was Jorge Paulo Lemann, who became one of Brazil’s wealthiest financiers with 3G Capital. What emerged from the talks was a $23 billion takeover of H. J. Heinz, the maker of Heinz ketchup.